Hindrance
by RavenWolf3
Summary: SLASH. A quick take on the pros and cons of being human on the job. JohnHellboy.


Title: Hindrance

Author: RavenWolf

Pairing: Hellboy/John

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Hellboy has issues about John's dangerous work.

"Look, kid, don't patronize me. I'm going after this one alone. I didn't want to have to say this, but you'll just get in the way if you come with me."

Meyers looked hurt, but still determined. "You can work out your complexes later, HB. I'm coming with. Deal with it."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're--" Hellboy's heated tone was cooled when Liz interrupted.

"Quit it, you two. I can't believe I have to separate you; I'm not either of your mothers! Meyers, go around back, see if you can herd it towards HB. I'll cover his back. Abe will be up on the roof, covering all of us via walkie talkie. So no more bickering, cute as it may be."

Both of them scowled at her at that. She gave them a sweet grin. Then, from the talkie at HB's belt, they heard the signal to go.

"All right, troops, you heard 'em. Move 'em out," HB growled. He and Meyers were the last two out of the garbage truck that doubled as their operations van. The tension between them was still thick. Meyers was defiant, HB overprotective. They glared at each other for no more than an instant before Hellboy loped off to track the beast.

John stared at his back for no more than a few seconds before heading off into the other direction, still angrily muttering to himself.

The beast they were hunting tonight was of Loprardian descent. It looked ungulate from a distance, with long, slender legs and a long neck. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see that the beast was heavily scaled, from head to toe. Its tail was serpentine and it had wide jaws, much like an alligator, which it used to chomp up the couple whose remains had been found earlier that night. Its long sinuous neck gave it leverage and muscle which it used for ripping and tearing.

Hellboy was really looking forward to working out his frustrations on it.

Trailing on a parallel path was John, who was still upset about their earlier fight. He'd thought they'd gotten past this stage, but apparently not. For some reason, Hellboy had decided to freak out on this particular mission, and had attempted to forbid him to come along. John shook his head in disbelief, still, as he thought about it. He _always_ helped track down the beasties. If he couldn't do that, then he wasn't really of any use at all, was he?

It hurt him that Hellboy didn't trust him enough to watch his back. And to say that he'd just _slow him down_? It was cold-hearted at best, cruel and unnecessary at worst. John had never known HB to behave that way, at least not since the first time they met.

He was sure he would stew over it later, but now he had a demon to catch. And he felt now the most overwhelming urge to prove to Hellboy and to himself that he wasn't a useless appendage to the BPRD.

They tracked the monster ten city blocks, before John heard the sounds of it munching on something on the other side a fence. He was in a dark alleyway when he heard it, with only a wooden fence between him and the seven hundred pounds of muscle and teeth that he'd been hunting.

He backed away slowly, and quietly whispered into his walkie talkie. "Red, I've got him. Do you read me, Red?"

Static was the only answer he received. He tapped the thing against his hand, hoping to jar the batteries back into action. "Sparky? You there?" More static.

John was beginning to get a little worried, but only slightly. The crunching and slavering sounds continued undisturbed on the other side of the fence. He was sure nothing had happened to Red and Sparky. Just an area of bad radio reception, right?

Then a voice came through the static. It was Abe. "John, we've got a problem. Red and Sparky are out of range. Clay tells me the streets are too crowded to get through." There was silence for a moment, as John digested the information, and Abe seemed to be consulting someone. Then the signal came through. "John, abort the mission. It's too crowded; you can't drive him towards Red without running him straight into crowded shoppers. Do you hear me, John? Abort the mission. Return to base."

John stood absolutely still for a few moments. The crunching sounds were slowing down; he hoped to God that the only thing the demon had been snacking on was garbage. He stared down at his radio, where snatches of Abe's voice were still coming through the static, telling him to abort.

He stared hard at the wooden fence for a second, before chucking the radio to the side and drawing his gun.

The black plastic walkie talkie made a clattering sound as it hit the damp cement and brick. Immediately the crunching sounds stopped. John could practically hear the beast slavering and breathing in great snorts of breath.

He could tell he was losing its attention, so he knocked over a trash can. The metallic clang echoed loudly in the quiet streets. Some pigeons perched nearby took flight. It was utterly silent for a moment.

Then the beast smashed through the fence. The wooden slats shattered. John ducked behind the brick wall of the building, both to avoid being seen and to avoid being impaled by wooden spears.

There was a great grunting as the beast scented the ground. According to Abe, the thing had very poor eyesight, but an excellent sense of smell and of hearing. John held his breath and prayed that the heavy tang of garbage and sewer would cover up his own, more enticing scent.

It didn't. The demon raised its head and gave out a great snort of air, visible in the relative cold of the night. It turned, and for a moment, John thought it was leaving. Then he heard an enormous crunching sound, and caught a glimpse of the beast using the opposite wall as a springboard to tackle him.

It came down on top of him, hard. All he could see were slavering jaws and razor sharp teeth as he was slammed backward into the pavement. He rolled to the side as it lunged at him, but only barely escaped as he was caught against one scaly foreleg. Quickly realizing that his arms weren't going to be enough to hold the beast back, he rolled onto his back and used his legs, pushing his feet up against its chest. He wasn't strong enough to push it off of him completely, but it kept it from reaching his head with its monstrous jaws.

Blindly, he fumbled for his dropped gun. Unable to take his eyes off of the imminent death that was staring him in the face, he didn't see the red shape moving speedily across the roof tops in his direction. He felt his legs trembling with the effort of holding the beast back.

Then it got smart. It started to whip its head back and forth, snapping at his legs. It caught a hold of his right leg, up toward the thigh. It bit in deep, and John knew he was finished. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain and anticipation as he waited for it to tear him in half.

Instead, there was a slight tearing sensation, and the beast was gone. And a second later, there was a thick thud as the mass of demon flesh hit the pavement harder than he had.

Hellboy was enraged. Gritting his teeth, he slammed his stone fist into the demon's head again and again. Flesh and bone splintered under the tremendous force, but he kept going. Finally, the beast gave a sigh and stopped struggling, leaving him free to have a look at John.

He stalked over to where the agent was lying, ready to be self-righteous and indignant, but instead he saw John lying broken in a pool of his own blood. His suit was stained a deep crimson with gore, and Hellboy watched in horror as the blood continued to pump from his open wound. Time slowed down for a few seconds, and all HB could see was the blood and Meyers's blank stare as he watched the sky.

Then the instant passed, and he went roaring into action again. He ran to John's side and knelt next to him. He took a pulse, relieved only to find that John was still alive. The pulse was weak and thready, and he panicked. Grabbing his radio, he said "Man down! Need assistance, at my coordinates! Red out."

He paused only a fraction of a second before bringing his flesh hand down to cradle John's head up. His hair felt soft and his skin cold and clammy. "Come on, Squirt," HB said. "You can pull through this. You can do it. Come on, Meyers, I need you."

John's head ticked slowly to the side, as he moved it with enormous effort. "Behind...you," he gasped.

Hellboy turned to look, too late, as the beast he'd thought dead leapt towards his head, jaws open and ready to crush.

But before the stroke could fall, there was a rapport of bullets and the demon's body seemed to dance as it was riddled with gunfire. The head jerked back, and then it fell against Hellboy's back harmlessly, dead before it hit the ground.

Baffled, Hellboy turned to look at John, who still held his gun. "Did I get it?" John panted. Then his eyes glazed over and he fainted.

John was laid up in the hospital. This, he was sure of, because of the bland tones of all the furniture in the room, the wires and tubes hooked up to him, and because of the smell of antiseptic. He felt all drugged out and he couldn't move his right leg. He was so weak he could barely even move his arms.

A minute later, a white-clad nurse entered the room. "Oh, good. You're awake. He'll be glad to know that."

John was confused. "Who's he?"

The nurse grinned ruefully. "Honestly, I've never seen him. But he calls twice a day to find out how you're doing. He said if you woke up without him that it was 'Red' on the phone, and that you'd know what that meant."

At this, a truly sincere smile broke out on John's face. "I do," he affirmed.

The nurse came over to his bed to check the readings. As she was changing the saline drip, she said, "You're lucky to have someone who cares so much about you. I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

John's happiness mellowed slightly as he corrected her. "Oh, no, we're not a couple. Just close friends."

She looked slightly frazzled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know...It just seemed like...well, never mind. Either way, he's a very good friend. Next time he calls, I'll let him know you're awake."

John smiled and nodded as she left the room. As soon as the door was closed, he collapsed in on himself. He couldn't believe he was so exhausted from just those few minutes of polite conversation. That, and having to tell her that Hellboy wasn't his lover. It rather knocked the wind out of his sails to have to admit it.

Honestly, he didn't really want to face HB right now. He vividly remembered the argument they'd had over him going on the mission. He didn't want to have to face Hellboy and know that he was right. That he'd just been in the way, a distraction from the real enemy. He should have stayed in the van, and now he knew it. Hell, he should have stayed on the normal side of paranormal. He had been insane to take this job, and now he'd learned the hard way that it wasn't the right place for him. Hellboy was right.

He fell asleep immediately after having those thoughts.

When he woke up again, Liz was sitting by his bed. Abe was at the foot of his bed, looking up at the ceiling and appearing very distracted. He looked over at Liz and pointed. "What's going on with Abe?" he asked.

She smiled and leaned forward. "He doesn't like being in or near hospitals. He says he can feel all the suffering from a mile away. But he wanted to come see you."

They both looked towards Abe, who was holding out a webbed hand in the direction of the wall and seemed to be listening intently. "I thought they found him in a hospital."

"They did," she said simply.

"You know, I can hear you," Abe said, in his cool, clipped tone. He didn't take his attention away from the wall. "The fact is, I wanted to see for myself that you were better. I have a tendency to distrust medical personnel, especially _curious_ medical personnel."

"Why would they be curious?" John asked. "I'm just a guy with a thigh wound."

Liz looked at him. "Yes, but you have a guy named Red who's not your boyfriend and calls twice a day, and a man who comes in covered in head to foot with a trench coat, scarf, hat, mittens, and sunglasses to visit you twice weekly."

John laughed, which quickly turned into a cough. "Ow, bruised ribs," he said. "But I can see your point."

Then he brought up the subject he'd been thinking of since he'd woken up, but had been too afraid to ask about. Especially with Abe the mind-reader in the room. "How is Hellboy, by the way?"

Liz and Abe shared a conspiratorial look. "He's watching us from the roof a building over. He said he didn't dare come someplace so public."

John snorted. "That never stopped him before. He came to visit _you_ all the time." The minute he said it, he knew he'd made a misstep. Liz looked upset, and she clammed up.

Abe turned away from his inspection of the wall to glare at him reproachfully. John sighed. Better he repair the damage now than let the wound fester, which it would if he left it. "I'm sorry, Liz. It must be all these drugs they're pumping into me. Though I have the feeling that I'd be a much bigger pain in the ass without them."

Liz laughed. "Alright, you're forgiven. I just don't think you're giving Hellboy enough credit. He wants to see you, he really does. I think he's just...worried. About something. I don't know what, though."

John decided to let it go. "Aw, you're easy. I was anticipating having to kiss up for a little longer than that before you would speak to me."

"I can go back to angry, if you want," she mock-threatened.

They spent the next ten minutes bantering easily back and forth, comfortable with each other in a way that they never could have been when they were dating.

From the roof, Hellboy watched and felt the familiar green sting of jealousy.

"Welcome back, Agent Meyers." Manning leaned forward to give him a handshake. It took some quick maneuvering, but John was able to get himself up so that he could shake Manning's hand. Not that he particularly wanted to. Being back at the Bureau meant that he was back at work. Even though he was in a wheelchair for the next few months. Which meant that he'd be stuck doing paperwork and research while Hellboy, Liz, and Abe did all the real runs.

"Good to be back, sir," he said, lying through his teeth. Manning nodded and headed on his way.

Gritting his teeth, John rolled himself forward. Liz was with him, but he'd insisted on pushing himself. His arms felt like they were on fire with over-exertion, but he didn't let it show. After all, he'd have to get used to it.

He _was_ rather looking forward to seeing Hellboy. He hadn't seen the demon since his accident, and he'd been in the hospital for a week. The shame he felt at having been injured on the job was paling in comparison to his sense of loss. He missed HB's easy banter, he missed their easy way together. He even missed the pet names HB had for him, like 'Boyscout' and 'Squirt'. He smiled wryly. 'Wheels' was probably not long in coming, if Hellboy's sense of humor was the same as it had been when he'd left.

As he wheeled down the corridor, Liz again offered to push him. This time he took her up on it, he was too tired to pretend anymore. He'd done some healing, and the drugs helped, but he was painfully aware that he was only at about half strength, if that. It was going to kill him to see Hellboy like this.

First, they stopped off at Abe's tank to say hello, and check in on how things were going. Sure, reports could be filed, but nothing was as accurate as Abe as finding out what the tensions were in any one situation.

Abe, as per usual, was reading about five different books, all at the same time. Fortunately for him, Agent Morrison, one of the other agents involved with the project, had taken an interest in Abe, and had volunteered to turn the pages for him.

Abe was unsurprised to see them, but then, it was hard to surprise Abe. John had once played chess with him. He'd never been so humiliated to admit that he'd been in the chess club as after that raging defeat.

Abe looked at them. "He's in his room," he said. "Moping, as per usual. John, if you can't get him back to normal, we may have to lobotomize the poor ape."

John didn't even try to decipher what Abe was talking about, though from the word 'ape', he gathered it had something to do with Hellboy's behavior. Though why Abe thought he could fix it was beyond him.

It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time he wheeled himself into the big red demon's room. "Hi, HB," he said uncertainly. It was questionable what kind of reception he was going to receive.

Hellboy had been just sitting on his bed when John came in. He looked up, and at the sight of the young agent, his tail began to lash agitatedly. He didn't say anything, merely grunted. But he didn't let his eyes move from John's face.

John felt his face flush. He wasn't used to so much focused attention from one person. So, to fill the ominous silence, he began to talk.

"Look, Hellboy, I know you're still mad about the fight we had before...well, before. And I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you got upset. But I'm not sorry I came along. You needed me. And it's my job to help. I know you think that I'm completely incapable, and to be honest, I think that myself sometimes, but if I hadn't been there, you could have been hurt. More people could have been hurt. And I'm still alive so I don't think it's really that big of a loss. It was really just a slip-up...I mean..."

Hellboy was growling at him by this point. The multitude of cats that had been on the bed now scurried away for cover. They read his body language much better than Meyers did, but even he fell silent.

"Can I talk now?" Hellboy asked, in a gruff, barely audible voice.

John nodded wordlessly, somewhat shocked.

But the demon didn't speak for a few moments. Instead, he stood and began to pace, his tail lashing back and forth. Finally, he said, in a deep baritone rife with anger. "You shouldn't have come with us. You were almost killed. Look at you! You can't even walk. You nearly--you nearly bled to death in my arms. How is that helpful? You could have done just as well tracking him from the rooftops, or helping Abe."

"You almost died, too!" John cried, indignant. "And I did too help! I saved your life, or don't you remember? That thing was about to snap your head off, and I shot it before it could. The last time I checked, that was helping, not hindering!"

"I would rather it had killed me than you be hurt like this!" Hellboy roared back, truly angry now.

But John fell silent, his ire entirely dissipated. "You...what?"

"I can't lose you, John. I just...I can't. I care about you too damn much."

Throughout their fight, Hellboy had been stalking closer and closer to John. Now, he used his close proximity to his advantage as he swept John up into a kiss. He picked him up and wrapped his tail around his waist for extra security, and then touched their lips together for the first time.

Clumsily, John kissed back. His arms went to Hellboy's head, where he encountered briefly the filed-down horns. Their passionate kiss came to a dead stop for an instant, and John was painfully aware about how self-conscious HB was. To soothe him, he stroked the smooth expanses of horn, and stroked at the base where they came from the skin. The tension broke and their kiss renewed itself.

"It's okay, Hellboy. You won't lose me. Because I care about _you_ too much to go anywhere."

Hellboy grunted deep in his throat, and cradled John deep into his chest. He didn't say anything, just wrapped his big arms around John and brought him close, enfolding him in the bear hug to end all bear hugs.

"Don't you ever do anything like this to me again, okay, Boyscout?" Hellboy's affectionate nickname brought warmth into John's soul, and he pressed his cheek against the naked red chest which cradled him.

"I swear, Hellboy. Now, though, I think it's time we went to bed."

HB's frame sort of slouched, and he helped John back to his wheelchair. "I understand, Meyers." He understood all right. His advances were not welcome, but John still considered him a friend. He understood.

John laughed. Very obviously, he leaned over to peer at the bed behind Hellboy. "I think it's big enough for two. What about you, HB? What do you think?"

Joyfully, Hellboy lifted John into his arms again, kissing him fiercely and aggressively. When he came up for air, his lips alive and tingling with sensation...not unlike the rest of him, he said, "You tease me like that again, John, and I'm gonna knock you one."

John's musical laugh told HB what he thought of that.

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